Scotland advances to semi-final at World Men’s

Scotland, skipped by Warwick Smith, has advanced to the semi-final of the Capital One World Men’s Curling Championship in Cortina d’Ampezzo, after defeating United States, 6-4 in dramatic fashion in Saturday morning’s Page Playoff 3 vs 4 game.

Smith, a two-time (1999, 2006) world champion, now faces Norway’s Torger Nergård in the semi-final at 4:30 pm local (10:30 am ET, live on TSN) today, with the winner earning a spot in Sunday’s final against Canada’s Kevin Koe. The gold medal final can also be seen live on TSN, Sunday at 10:00 am ET.

The United States, skipped by 2006 Olympic bronze medallist Pete Fenson, drops to Sunday’s bronze medal game to meet the loser of the semi-final.

Scotland pulled out the shocking victory by counting one in the 10th end to knot the affair at four, then stole a deuce in the extra end for the 6-4 win when Fenson was heavy with his last stone, landing in the back eight-foot behind two Scottish counters.

“I was just wondering how many times we had to win it,” Smith said. “We had total control and gave it back. It was just nonsense. We had some slack shots we should never have had. But, it was a gritty performance at the end, and we played the extra end well.”

Said a dejected Fenson, “It (his last stone) felt like it might have had a little under it, and I gave it an extra spin. The ice was straightening out anyway, but I was just too heavy. We got a little short on time and had I had 30 more seconds, I may have tried to run the guard back.”

Norway, which finished the round robin with a 10-1 mark, good enough for first place, lost to Canada on Friday, 11-5 in the Page 1 vs 2 game and thus was relegated to the semi-final, while Koe, making his World debut, qualified for the final.

Scotland edged Norway, 5-4 in the first draw last Saturday, handing the Norwegians their only loss during the round robin.